How Maruti suppliers are reorienting strategies after diesel phase out plan

Hitting a speed-breaker

It’s been close to three weeks since Maruti Suzuki announced it would discontinue diesel cars in its fleet for various reasons, primary being the cost escalation, to meet the emission norms compliant with Bharat VI guidelines. This prompts a larger question: Where does that leave vendors — referred to as partners by India’s largest automaker — who supply components for these vehicles? Indeed, the pace at which India is moving from Bharat Stage (BS) IV to BS VI (deadline: 2020) skipping the intermediate BS V stage is really fast and, as many say, unprecedented.

Maruti refused to comment on how